CustomerExpectations

Customer Expectations
By Paul Herbig


Customer expectations have been rising over the past few decades. Graduates expect to find that perfect job and be managers and owners within a few years out of school; everyone is searching to find the ‘perfect’ spouse, often discarding those with one or two frailties; and our children should be perfect, beautiful, smart, athletic (picking those characteristics genetically is not as far off as one might think). As the number of choices increase in our life, many consumers believe they should never have to settle for that which is just “good enough” and instead shoot for perfection—given the plethora of options available, They know it is out there and theirs to be found. Those that do aim for only the best have been repeatedly found to be less happy, less optimistic, and more depressed . . . the making of a dissatisfied customer who cannot make up his/her mind (sounds familiar?).

Recently a "Husband Shopping Center" opened in Houston, where women could go to choose a husband from among many men. It was laid out in five floors, with the men increasing in positive attributes as you ascended up the floors The only rule was, once you opened the door to any floor, you must choose a man from that floor, and if you went up a floor, you couldn't go back down except to leave the place never to return.
A couple of friends went to the place to find their perfect mate. First floor, the door had a sign saying "These men have jobs and love kids." The women read the sign and said, "Well, that's better than not having jobs, or not loving kids, but I deserve better so I wonder what's further up?" So up they go. Second floor says "These men have high paying jobs, love kids, and are extremely good looking." Hmmm, say the girls, “Better but not the best. I deserve better. I wonder what's further up?” To the Third floor they go: "These men have high paying jobs, are extremely good looking, love kids and help with the housework." Wow! Say the women. Very tempting, BUT, Not quite good enough. There's more further up! And up they go. Fourth floor: "These men have high paying jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak." Oh, mercy me. Sounds heavenly but not quite perfect. I only deserve the absolute best. Just think what must be awaiting us further on! So up to the fifth floor they go. The sign on that door said, "This floor is empty and exists only to prove that women are impossible to please."

This is funny. Take away the sexist implication (substitute men for women, substitute looking for perfect) and you have an excellent example of seeking perfection and never be satisfied with anything less. The result: constant dissatisfaction.

Customer expectations are often misaligned with company objectives. This could be due to the customer having unrealistically high expectations or the company having created levels of expectations it either cannot or will not fulfill.

Setting expectations. You must set the level of expectations you are able to meet and then sell to that point or just below it. Tell customers what you want them to want. Messages must be crafted to give the appropriate level of expectations. Hype might bring customers to your door but if your product and delivery cannot match the hype, you will not close the sale or keep the customer. What are you promising to the customer? Are you willing and able to meet the promises?

A study by the University of Illinois found customers willing to hang around even with lower actual satisfaction if their expectations were of higher actual future use. And conversely, those customers whose future value of products were minimal (not very useful to them in the future) tended not to hang around even with high ratings of customer satisfaction. In other words, if you provide a product valuable to them in the past, present and future, they will tend to stick with you regardless of the level of satisfaction (up to a point that is). You must 1) Effectively set expectations for customers; 2) Understand all the expectations of your customers. Not just those overtly expressed but just as well trying to understand those hidden; and 3) Deliver on their expectations or exceeding them Remember, Dissatisfaction is often derived from failed customer expectations

If your major benefit or sustainable competitive advantage is service and customer support, do not send messages of aggressive pricing. You will attract the wrong type of customer who will not be happy with the actual product offered. The expectation you create for your customers must match the message they hear.